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Turning his camera on the world

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Young Achiever Marquedelle Philip Rodrigues (Photo by Glenn Tucker)

Armed with a slim Sony Cyber-shot camera, poet and DJ Marquedelle Philip-Rodriguez dreams of producing “the deep types of films”.His social commentary sharpened through his involvement with Chewstick’s Chewslam division, 16-year-old Marq is turning his camera on the world around him.“We’re going to touch on social issues,” Marq explained, “but the idea is for quiet people to have a voice.”The Berkeley Institute S3 student so impressed teachers with his documentary about the school that he was encouraged to make more.Berkeley English teacher Tonisha Key-Holmes said: “The quality was amazing. We have another student, Keishaun Samuels, who also writes poetry that touches on social issues like violence in Bermuda right now.“They’re talking beyond their years. I encouraged them to get together.”Along with S4 artist Aljay Furbert, Marq is using his pocket camera to catch the poetry and art in a fresh documentary.His ten-minute piece on energy consumption at Berkeley was put together in two days earlier this week, he said.“I investigated and found that my school spends $100,000 on the monthly electricity bill — that $1.2 million a year,” he said.Intending to take the documentary format further, Marq said he expects his next piece to be completed by the end of the school year — capturing the spirit of the student poetry.His involvement with Chewslam saw Marq travelling with other Bermudian poets out to a slam poetry competition in California last July.Marq counts his biggest achievement as being able to deliver poetry at the Premier’s Concert in December.He also made the top 20 in the last Bermuda’s Got Talent.Originally from the Dominican Republic, Marq had to overcome language barriers when he moved to Bermuda six years ago with parents Don Quedelle Philip and Margarita Rodriguez.“What I want to do is combine music, film and art,” he said. “When people ask me what I want to be when I grow, I tell them I want to change the world through what I see through my eyes.”A fan of Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki and artist Pablo Picasso, Marq said he was inspired by Chewstick coach Yesha Townsend to take his poetry further.“But my biggest dream is to see if I could put on a rave in Bermuda,” the Pembroke teen added.“I feel like Bermuda was designed for older people. I want to see if we can pull off a big show with lights and music and theatre. “That’s my goal before I go from Bermuda to college — a rave for a thousand or 10,000 people. That would be great.”